Undergarment



Patented Oct. 1, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE UN DERGARMIENT Application October 31, 1933, Serial No. 695,977

6 Claims.

This invention relates to undergarments and more especially to a garment of that character having a drop seat.

One of the important objects of the invention is the provision of an undergarment having a drop seat of simple and efiicient construction which does not call for the use of buttons or other similar fastening means.

Another object of the invention is to provide a drop seat construction which insures the retention of the drop seat in proper position when closed and thereby a smooth, comfortable fit.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a drop seat elastically connected at the sides to the body portion of the garment to permit it to be easily dropped when necessary.

Other objects of the invention will be in part obvious and in part described hereinafter.

My invention contemplates a drop seat garment in which the drop seat is elastically connected along the upper portions of its two sides to the body portion of the garment at or adjacent the side thereof so that there is a constant upward tension thereby exerted on the sides of the drop seat to hold it in proper closed position on the body of the wearer and to prevent any sagging thereof. Preferably also, the upper edge of the drop seat is provided with elastic means adapted to be under a slight tension when the drop seat is in closed position which elastic means together with the elastic side connection means insure a proper position of the drop seat when closed yet permitting it to be lowered when necessary. I

The preferred form of the invention consists in providing a pair of elastic gussets connecting the upper portions of the two sides of the drop seat to the body at or adjacent the sides thereof with the lines of stretch of the gussets inclined in an upward direction from the drop seat to the sides of the garment.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a front view of an undergarment of the legless type provided with a drop seat in accordance with my invention and Fig. 2 is a rear view of the same.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown one type of garment having a drop seat made in ac cordance with my invention. The garment illustrated is of legless form preferably made of knitted textile fabric and comprises a body portion of tubular form designated generally as Iii having a neck opening l2, abbreviated arm portions i4 and I5 and leg openings l8 and 2&5, and a drop seat 2|.

The body portion comprises a front part in two separate vertical sections 22 and 24 secured at their side edges between the arm portions and leg openings to a back section 26 by seams 28 and 29 respectively and on the shoulders by similar seams 3|] and 3|. The two front sections 22 and 24 are adapted to be fastened together along their free edges down the center of the front part from the neck opening to the crotch and for this purpose the free edge of section 22 is provided with a binding 32 of closely woven material folded longitudinally to form a double thickness, the free edges of which are turned and secured by stitching 34 to the two sides of the edge of said section 22. Fastened to the binding 32 is a plurality of buttons 36 spaced apart at suitable intervals and the free edge of section 24 is provided with a stitched edge 31 and a similar series of buttonholes 38 for buttoning the two sections together down the front of the garment from the neck opening to the crotch portion.

The back section 26 is preferably in one piece and on its side edges is stitched to the front sec tions by the seams 28 and 29 and extends downwardly to the leg openings but its button edge 40 is cut on approximately a semicircular line. The wales 43 of the fabric of the body portion of the garment run longitudinally that portion so that the garment is substantially non-stretchable in that direction but is highly stretchable in a transverse direction. The various parts are preferably so cut and fitted that the body portion is smaller at the waist for the purpose of securing a better fit on the body of the wearer.

The drop seat 2| may be made of one or more pieces but as shown comprises three pieces, a central section designated as 2| and two side sections 44 and 46 secured by seams 48 and 5E to the two opposite sides of the central section 2|. That section 2| is extended at its bottom end to form the crotch portion 52 of the garment and extends upwardly in front a short distance and is stitched to the two front sections 22 and 24 on the curved lines by a seam 54 which is extended at its two ends to the leg openings to fasten narrow portions of the side sections 44 and 46 to the said front sections.

The three sections making up the drop seat all have side edges converging upwardly so that the drop seat is of diminishing width in an upward direction. For a short distance upwardly from the leg openings, the two side sections are secured at their outer edges to the front sections 22 and 24 by the side seams 28 and 29 respectively. In its upper portion the width of the drop seat diminishes rapidly in an upward direction and at its top edge the seat is of relatively narrow width.

For fastening the upper side edges of the drop seat to the body portion, a gusset 55 of elastic material is inserted between each upper side edge and the body portion and is fastened at one edge to the body portion by the seam 23 or the seam 29 and at its other edge to the drop seat by a seam 58. Any suitable elastic material may be used for the gussets and one such material is shown which is knitted from suitable textile yarn and composite rubber yarn, the latter of which comprises a core of rubber or latex with a textile fibre yarn covering which is preferably in two layers, first an inner layer of fibre yarn wound helically around the core in one direction and second, an outer layer of the yarn wound helically over the inner layer in the opposite direction. Preferably, the composite rubber yarn is knitted in the fabric to form parallel strands 60 spaced at intervals and the gussets are cut from the fabric so that their upper edges 62 are parallel with the strands of said composite yarn in consequence of which the gussets are stretchable in a direction parallel with said upper edges.

' Preferably, the gussets are inserted with their upper edges 62 inclined upwardly toward the sides of the garment so that when the garment is worn the gussets being under a light tension will exert a pull on the drop seat in an upward direction to hold it in a closed position. The upper edge of. the drop seat may be provided with a band 64 of elastic tape preferably made from the composite rubber or latex yarn. The use of yarn of this character is preferred because while highly stretchable it produces a light tension only which does not cause discomfort to the wearer. It is furthermore very durable and does not deteriorate when the garment is subjected to washing.

The other portions of the garment may be finished in any suitable manner. The sleeves l4 and it are secured to the body portion by seams 66 and 68 respectively and may each be provided with a cuff portion lii. The neck opening l 2. may be finished with a. non-elastic tape 12 and the leg openings 18 and 2G with a folded binding '54 longitudinally stretchable which is fastened to the front and back sections by elastic stitching H5.

The front and back sections of the body portion may be provided with vertical non-stretchable reenforcing seams i8 extending from the shoulder seams 30 and 3| to the waist line and these seams may adjacent their lower ends be provided with buttons attached to the seams by tapes 82 for supporting any suitable form of outer garment.

In the use of. an undergarment of the character described, the front may be unbuttoned to permit the garment to be put on or taken off. When the garment is being worn the drop seat may be lowered without effort since the elastic band 64 and the two gussets 62 are easily stretchable for this purpose. When the drop seat is in a closed position, the elastic band combined with the two gussets, which exert an upward pull on the drop seat, hold it securely in said position and prevent any sagging which is apt to make the garment uncomfortable to the wearer.

It is to be observed that a drop seat made in accordance with my invention is of very simple construction yet well fitting, efficient and comfortable in use and that it is adapted for use in various forms of garments. It is obvious that the invention may be embodied in other forms than i that herein shown and described and the invention is not to be limited other than is set forth in the following claims.

What I claim is:

V 1. A garment of the character described comprising a body portion provided with a drop seat having side edges converging in an upward direction and a gusset of elastic material connecting each of said side edges to said body portion at or adjacent one side seam thereof, each of said gussets having its upper edge inclined upwardly from said drop seat toward the side seam of said body portion and being stretchable in a direction parallel with said upper edge to hold said drop seat in closed position on the wearer yet permitting it to be dropped when necessary.

2. A garment of the character described comprising a body portion provided with a drop seat having the upper portion of its sides converging in an upward direction and having an upper edge band of elastic material and a gusset of elastic material connecting each of said upper side portions throughout its entire length to said body portion at or adjacent one side thereof, each of said gussets having its upper edge inclined upwardly from said drop seat toward the side of said body portion and being stretchable in a direction parallel with said upper edge.

3. A garment of the character described comprising a body portion provided with a drop seat having the upper portion of its sides converging in an upward direction and a gusset connecting each of said upper side portions throughout its 25 entire length to said body portion at or adjacent one side thereof, each of said gussets having its upper edge inclined upwardly from said drop seat toward the side of said body portion and being formed of knitted textile material and composite30 rubber yarn and stretchable in a direction parallelwith said upper edge to exert an upward pull on said drop seat to hold it in closed position.

4. A garment of the character described comprising a cylindrical body portion provided with 35 tion adjacent its sides by a gusset of elastic ma- 40 terial, and said drop seat having itsupper edge provided with an elastic tape band.

5. A garment of the character described comprising a body portion of cylindrical form having a drop seat comprising a central portion of knitted 45 fabric having upwardly converging side edges and side portions of elastic material, the side edges of said central portion being stitched to the sides of said body portion for a short distance only from the bottom of said drop seat and'then stitched to 50 the inner side edges of said side portions, the outer edges of said side portions being stitched to the sides of said garment, the top edge of said central portion being provided with an elastic having its ends fastened to said side portions and 55 said side portions being stretchable in a direction transversely of said body portion for permitting said seat to be dropped when necessary.

6. A garment of the character described, comprising a cylindrical body portion provided with 60 a drop seat having the lower portions of its side edges attached to said body portion at the sides thereof and the upper portions of its side edges converging in an upward direction and a gusset each side of said drop seat between the converging portion of its side edge and the side of said garment, each of said gussets being attachedalong one side edge to the converging portion of one of the side edges of said drop seat and along its 7 other side to one side of said body portion.

GEORGE F. EARNSHAW.

of elastic material filling in the entire space on 

